Type A adults (those who are competitive, achievement-oriented, impatient, hostile and aggressive) are at increased risk for coronary heart disease compared with Type B relaxed, pressure-free) people. Much has been learned from laboratory studies about the situational determinants of Type A behavior, but how it actually develops is not yet clear. Recent research has focused on Type A behavior in children in an effort to address that question. This proposal is a request for funds to code and analyze videotapes of Type A and B mothers interacting in two structured play sessions, one year apart, with their 6-12-year-old children. Each mother had recently separated from her husband at the time of the first play session; thus dyads were observed first at a very stressful time then a year later. Goals of the project are: 1) To describe qualitatively the relationships between Type A and B mothers and their Type A or B children, as observed in a naturalistic play setting. Of particular interest are the global relationship differences that may characterize the Type A-B distinction. 2) To examine, in a naturalistic setting, the impact of different environmental expectations on the behavior of Type A and B mothers and children. Previous laboratory studies have suggested that Type A people respond sensitively to differences in environmental contingencies, but little work has been done so far on these effects in more realistic settings. In this study, mothers were asked to play with their children in a highly structured, goal-oriented task, a structured but open-ended task, and in free play. Differences among these conditions will be assessed. 3) To examine, in a naturalistic setting, the impact of environmental stress on the relationship between Type A and B mothers and children. Others have noted the impact that uncontrollable stress has on the behavior, in laboratories, of Type A people; the current project affords a chance to examine these findings under conditions of a real, pervasive environmental stress.